Packaged suture



UNHTE ST'E'ES FATE? @FFHQE PACKAGED SUTURE Haldane Cleminson, Chicago,Ill. Original application April 11, 1941, Serial No.

387,999. Divided and 1941, Serial No. 396,727

. 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to packaged sutures and is a division ofmy prior application Serial No. 387,999 filed April 11, 1941. Thatapplication is now particularly directed to the method of preparing thesutures for market, while the present application is directed to theproduct resulting from the method of the parent application.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improvedsuture package in which the suture is so arranged that a part of it maybe withdrawn from the package while the remainder of the suture is stillretained in the package and maintained in a sterile condition for futureuse.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved packageand method of packaging sutures by means of which the suture is mademore readily available for withdrawal from the package withoutpossibility of tangling.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved suturepackage and method of packaging, by means of which a greater length ofsuture may be packaged in a relatively small tube or other container soas to utilize to the best advantage the space available.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved suturepackage which is adapted to be put up with a minimum amount of handlabor, and with resulting economy and spaced of production in thepackaging of the sutures, by reason of the fact that the packaging maybe carried on more quickly.

Another object of the invention'is the provision of an improved methodof packaging, and a package for sutures, by means of which economy inthe use of the suture is effected on account of the possibility of usingonly asmuch as needed at one time, the remainder of the suture beingkept in a sterile condition in its container, and the protruding partbeing maintained sterile by its immersion in a sterile alcohol bath.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawing, in which similarcharacters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the severalviews.

Referring to the single sheet of drawings accompanying thespecification:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of the packaged suture as it appears afterit has been sterilized and hermetically sealed so that it isready forthe market; 7

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on a plane passing through theaxis of the tube, showing the package as .it appears after the suture"has been "placed in the tube, sterilized and covered with a preservingliquid, in the conthis application June 5,

dition in which the package is found just before it is sealed oif asshown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is an elevational view similar to Fig. 1, of the packaged sutureas it appears after the tube has been broken off and the suture is readyfor useor after a portion of it has been used and the remainder, asshown in Fig. 3, is adapted to be thrown back in an alcohol solutionuntil further suture material is to be used.

Referring to Fig. 1, this is a vertical sectional view, taken on a planepassing through the axis of the suture package, showing the structureand arrangement of such a package.

The suture is contained in a glass tube ll of substantially cylindricalform, having its lower end H closed and its upper end sealed andsimilarly closed.

The suture indicated at I3 is helically coiled,

and it is found that a greater length of gut can be placed in the smalltube when arranged in this way than when it is arranged according to themethods of the prior art.

The diameter of the coils of the suture i3 is such that there ispreferably a small spacing be-- tween the inner wall of the tube I 0 andthe suture coils, and the coils may be placed quite close together incontact with each other, if desired, depending upon the relative sizesof the parts.

One of the most important features of the invention is the arrangementof the suture so that it is not necessary to provide any type of spoolor mandrel or other member on which it I is wrapped in the package andthe manner in which the major portion of the suture is enclosed againstcontamination with only one end projecting through the cotton plug.

The lower end of the helically coiled suture I3 is free, but the upperend preferably extends in axial direction, as indicated at M, through afibrous plug. I5 of absorbent and sterile cotton, which keeps thehelical coils of the suture from becoming disarranged or getting outsideof the tube after the upper end of the tube has been broken oif at ascored portion I6.

- The cotton plug I5 is made by rolling sterile cotton in the form ofbatting into a substantially cylindrical roll five-eighths of an inch ormore in length, and placing it on the needle,

which forms a part of the apparatus for packaging sutures of this typecovered by my copending application entitled Apparatus for packagingsutures, Serial No. 396,728, filed June The suture has an axiallyextending portion 14 so that when the suture is enclosed in the chamber2l andthe plug I5 is in the tube supporting the axially extendingportion I4, this portion projects beyond the cotton plug so that it maybe grasped by the surgeon and the suture may be pulled out as desired.

The cotton plug I is of sufiicient siz so that it has tight fit in thetube and is frictionally held in place. The plug is adapted to seal,bacteriologically, the chamber 2| of the tube against ingress ofmicro-organisms or bacteria of any kind.

The scored portion l6 of the tube is preferably made by grinding andwithout any cracking of the tube so that there is no to break due toshock, but the wall is made thinner and is weakened at I6 so that whenthe tube of Fig. 1 is subjected to a bending force it will break offcleanly as shown in Fig. 3.

The tube is preferably broken by placing it in a towel and exerting abending force, which will produce a clean break at the scored groove Hi.The operator may then grasp the axially extending end portion M of thesuture and withdraw as much as is needed from the chamber 2| in the tubebelow the plug l5. As the end of the suture is drawn out, the helicalcoil 13 will rotate in the tube, and its coils adjacent the plug l5 willbe at least temporarily straightened as they pass through the plug I 5.The proper length of suture may be cut off, and the rest left in thetube and the liquid without being disturbed, where it will be maintainedin its sterile condition.

The method of making such suture packages is fully described in my priorapplication Ser. No. 387,999, which also shows the apparatus adapted tobe used. Briefly stated, the suture is coiled upon a mandrel andsubjected to heat for setting the suture in a helical shape. At thistime the longitudinally extending portion I4 is carried by a needlewhich is supported by the mandrel and the cotton plug [5 is slidablymounted on the needle.

When a sumcient length of suture has been wrapped on the mandrel, it isstripped ofi the mandrel and simultaneously forced into a carrier tubewhich may be used for carrying it from the mandrel to the glass tube II.The use of this carrier enables the suture to be inserted into the glasstube H with the suture lowermost, located in the lower part of the tube,and with the cotton plug above the suture and located below the scoredportion.

The tube is then plugged at its upper end with a second cotton plug 10located sufiiciently above the end of the suture so that the tube may besealed between the plugs l5 and 19 in the manner shown in Fig. 1 afterthe sterilization has been completed.

The assembly shown in Fig. 2 is then subjected to the simultaneousaction of a vacuum and sterilizing heat in a closed container at asterilizing temperature, and for a sufficient number of hours to insurethe destruction of all micro-organisms and their spores.

Thereafter, the vacuum in the closed container may be broken and theends of the tubes may be immersed in a predetermined amount of sterilepreserving fluid, such as ethyl alcohol.

The container may then be subjected to a vacuum which will cause the airto bubble out through the alcohol from the chamber 2|, through thecotton plugs l5 and I0.

The vacuum may again be broken to raise the pressure in the container,which will cause the preserving alcohol to filter through the plugs and10, into the chamber 2| to a predetermined level. The open end of theglass tube 10 may tendency for the tube then be sealed, after drying outplug 10, below the plug 10, while the plug 10 is still in place, and thesealing of the glass tube is accomplished in the usual manner, by theapplication of heat and drawing out the tube.

The result is a packaged suture as shown in Fig. 2, which is arranged inhelical form, with one end extending axially through the plug l5.

It will thus be observed that I have invented an improved method andapparatus for packaging sutures, by means of which the sutures may bearranged in a helical form with a minimum amount of hand labor. Thisarrangement permits the suture to be withdrawn and used only as needed,the remainder being kept sterile in its tube, which is thrown back in analcohol solution.

The present product may be packaged more economically than the productsof the prior art because less hand labor is required and less materialis required as there is no spool or reel needed in the package. Agreater length of suture may be packaged in the same size tube or thesame amount of suture may be packaged in a shorter or smaller tube thanwith the arrangements of the prior art.

The portion of the suture which is not used by the surgeon is untouchedand is not removed from the package until it is ready to be used and itis maintained in a sealed condition, bacteriologically, by means of thesterile cotton plug I5 through which suture material may be Withdrawn asdesired.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction as set forth. but desire to avail myself of all changeswithin the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A packaged suture comprising a glass tube having a wall of substantialthickness, said tube being hermetically sealed at both ends and having apair of chambers formed therein and separated by a sterile plug offibrous material frictionally secured in the tube and adapted to excludemicroorganisms and their spores, the first of said chambers being a mainsuture chamber, and the second of said chambers being an enclosureadapted to bebroken off to expose said sterile plug, the wall of saidlast tube having formed therein an annular groove of substantial widthand depth by grinding away a portion of the outer wall of said tube insaid second chamber adjacent to said sterile plug, whereby the tube isunaffected by ordinary shocks in shipping, but is adapted to be brokenby the application of a bending force; and a sterile suture having itsparts arranged in hellcal coils and set by heat, located in the first ofsaid chambers, said coils being of smaller diameter than the interior ofsaid tube, and said suture having at one end an axially projectingportion extending through said. sterile fibrous plug and frictionallysecured therein, whereby the end of the suture may be grasped and apredetermined length withdrawn against the friction of said plug, thehelical coils rotating in said tube dur-- ing the withdrawal, and apreserving liquid in a sterile condition located in said tube andsubstantially surrounding said suture.

H LDANE CLEMINSON.

